APPS WE LOVE
Houzz Home Design & Renovation
If you've spent the last two years renovating your house and this is the first time you've heard of Houzz, then this is your facepalm moment.
This app is absolutely packed with useful information and inspiration for doing up your home. You’ll find articles on how to re-decorate and a directory of professionals, from builders to landscape gardeners. A curated shop will tempt you with attractive taps and stylish sofas and you can even ask for advice from other app users on how best to configure your bathroom, for example.
What will keep you scrolling (enviously) for hours is the vast catalogue of photographs showing beautiful side return extensions and smart sitting rooms.
Some images are tagged, so you can find out where to buy the lamp or chair you like and click through to purchase.
This is when Houzz gets really clever. Select a piece of furniture you fancy (a coffee table, say) and you can then click the View in My Room button, which opens your camera. Now go to your lounge, reposition the table and slot it into the ideal place.
It doesn’t stop there. You can add more items from the Houzz shop until you’ve filled your room with desired objects before adding to cart. Or, simply snap the picture and save it to your personal Ideabook.
If you’re not at home or don’t have an image of your sitting room on your phone, you can use Houzz’s Sketch function to find stock images of empty rooms. Annotate the picture with comments and measurements, add furniture, paint the walls, choose the carpet… You’ll spend hours creating the room of your dreams. The only remaining step is to save up some cash.